‘I Cannot Think Of A More Immoral Thing To Do’: Chris Coons Slams Potential Social Security Cuts

2 days ago

During a Senate Democratic press briefing about Social Security on Tuesday, Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) spoke about the growing fear in Americans of losing their Social Security benefits.

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Transcript

00:00Thank you, Senator Schatz.

00:02And now from the state of Delaware, we have Senator Coons.

00:11Ask older Americans what they think of Social Security.

00:16Ask Delawareans, ask Americans what they think Social Security is, and they'll tell you it's

00:22an earned benefit, a vital lifeline, the thing that keeps them out of poverty, the thing

00:28that pays for their medication, that helps them afford rent, that allows them to live

00:34decently and safely.

00:37It is an absolute foundation on which 70 million Americans depend.

00:44Just this Sunday at church, a friend, a retired minister, came up to me trembling and said,

00:51I just checked, and Social Security through their website says they don't have an account

00:57for me.

00:59What will happen if my check doesn't come?

01:04Ask Elon Musk, the richest man on earth, what he thinks of Social Security, and he'll tell

01:09you it's a Ponzi scheme.

01:11A Ponzi scheme is a fraud.

01:13A Ponzi scheme is a fake.

01:15A Ponzi scheme is a theft.

01:18And I'll tell you, more Delawareans call my office, reach out to me, grab my elbow as

01:25I'm heading onto the train, knock on my door to ask urgently, is Social Security safe?

01:33From Doge, getting into my information, from cuts to the service hours and time and access,

01:40more Delawareans ask me urgently about Social Security than any other federal program.

01:49Ask Kathleen what she thinks of Social Security, and she'll say this, and I quote, I'm a

01:5464-year-old disabled woman.

01:57I'm concerned about my Social Security disability.

02:00I am totally dependent on my check, and I'm terrified of what's going on with Doge.

02:07I will be homeless if anything happens to my disability check.

02:13Over and over, week after week, all of my colleagues hear the same thing from the people

02:18we represent.

02:20And for decades, there's been deep bipartisan support for sustaining, for strengthening

02:28Social Security.

02:30Until now, Elon Musk said the quiet part out loud, that they intend to slash benefits to

02:37help pay for tax cuts for billionaires and their buddies.

02:41I cannot think of a more immoral thing to do.

02:45I cannot think of a more wrong course of action than to slash health care benefits and access

02:52to the earned support of Social Security simply to fund even bigger tax cuts for the very

02:59wealthiest Americans and most profitable companies.

03:03House Republicans have made it clear their goal is to cut $2 trillion in spending to

03:09pay for their reconciliation bill.

03:11You can't do that without cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security.

03:18Social Security is not a giveaway.

03:20It's not riddled with waste, fraud, and abuse.

03:24And Democrats are united in protecting it.

03:27We need to strengthen Social Security, not cut it.

03:31And I stand with my colleagues and every Democrat in the Senate in saying, hands off Social

03:37Security, President Trump and Elon Musk.

‘I Cannot Think Of A More Immoral Thing To Do’: Chris Coons Slams Potential Social Security Cuts

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